She may be 41 years old and about to compete in the Olympics against much younger athletes but that won’t deter Lindsey Vonn. It’s that very determination that drove her to pursue a fifth Olympics. And just 9 days before the Games, she showed us she could go head-to-head with the best by embracing the viral ‘Nihilist Penguin’ meme as a symbol of her own path.

Recently, Lindsey Vonn posted a video on Instagram where she can be seen skiing flawlessly. Her fluid movements were captured in slow-motion videos, and the background music of Papaoutai (Afro Soul) gave her energy. “Go your own path” and “on to find the penguin” are written on the screen.

The video appeared to be from her previous World Cup race in Tarvisio, Italy, where she placed third. She captioned it, ” I’m coming for you little guy!! “But why?”… Because if you walk your own path you never know where it will take you…”

The penguin in her post? It is the viral Nihilist Penguin meme, in the 2007 documentary Encounters at the End of the World. The video depicts a solitary penguin strolling peacefully into the snowy wild, seemingly not frightened of danger.

It was dubbed by fans as Nihilist Penguin, as they viewed it as a symbol of moving forward in the face of uncertainty, a metaphor that reflects Vonn in a similar way.

The Lindsey Vonn comeback at 41, much like the journey of the Nihilist Penguin, was about walking her own road. For someone who retired in 2019 because of injuries, she never wanted to let them define the end of her career.

So in 2024, after a partial knee replacement, she made the bold decision to come back and chase the Olympics one last time. Of course, not everyone understood. Some wondered if she should even be racing again.

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Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister suggested she “should see a psychologist” and wondered if she might hurt herself by racing again. Franz Klammer called her decision “completely mad.”

But she didn’t care. Sure, Lindsey Vonn knew the risks; her knee replacement could have limited her, but she was determined to follow her own path. Race after race, she silenced critics with impressive performances and podium finishes in speed events like downhill and super-G.

Her skill earned her a quota spot for the United States, and Team USA officially named her to the 2026 Olympic roster.

And with each passing day, Lindsey Vonn is proving that she can perform just as fiercely as younger athletes and much of that comes from the mantra she has followed throughout her life.

Lindsey Vonn’s guiding mantra

With 84 World Cup victories, the second-most by any female Alpine skier,  Lindsey Vonn heads to the Milan Cortina Games next month ready to write the final chapter of her Olympic story.

She made her Olympic debut at Salt Lake City in 2002 and has three medals to her name: gold in the 2002 downhill, and bronze in the 2010 Super-G and 2018 downhill. Now, after a long break and a comeback fueled by determination, she’s back on the slopes with a secret mantra.

The mantra has personal significance. Lindsey Vonn lost her mother, Linda Krohn, to ALS in August 2022. Vonn has often spoken about her mother’s unfailing positivity, an attitude she strives to embody in her own life.

“I’ve learned to never waste a chance to say I love you, to give someone a hug, or to take opportunities when they come. Go do it. Explore. Live. Try. All I can do is follow my mom’s example and keep trying with a smile.”

This year’s Winter Olympics will mark Lindsey Vonn’s fifth appearance.  “I’ve won everything I could have ever won. I’m not doing this to prove anything to anyone. I’m doing this because it’s meaningful for me, and I hope I can make a positive impact.”

Her mantra, “Today is another great day,” is just about that – Even in the face of challenges, positivity and passion can shape not just a career, but a life.